FORT WORTH – Texas Wesleyan University (22-6, 19-2 SAC) fell to Wayland Baptist University (15-10, 14-7 SAC) 3-0 in Friday night's contest.
In the first set, the Rams and Pioneers battled, but the Pioneers got out to an early 7-4 lead.
Migdaly Bernal and
Lyric Biggiers led the offense for the Rams but kept battling from behind as the Pioneers were the first to reach 20 as they took a 20-16 lead late in the set. The Pioneers went on a 4-1 run to take set point, and although the Rams won two points out of the timeout, the Pioneers took the first set by a score of 25-19 and a 1-0 set lead.
The second set, both teams' offenses were firing on all fronts and found themselves tied 7-7 early in the set. The Rams started to separate themselves with help from
Hanna Rubis and
Victoria Smith to take a 17-11 lead with the Rams looking to run away with it. The Pioneers went on a 12-3 run to take a 23-20 lead over the Rams late in the set. The Rams forced three hitting errors to tie things up 23-23. The Rams and Pioneers battled as Smith had two kills and a service ace from
Emily Lewis put the Rams up 26-25 with the second set just a point away. The Pioneers answered with three consecutive points to take the second set 28-26 and a 2-0 set lead.
Going into the third set, the Rams needed an answer as they needed to win the next three sets to take the match. The Rams got things started with a 7-4 lead and were looking to use that momentum to take control of the set. The Rams and Pioneers battled without either wanting to give an inch, but the Pioneers pushed past the Rams as they took a 16-14 lead in the heart of the set. Both teams continued to trade points as the Pioneers were the first to reach 20 once again with a 20-18 lead and looking to complete a sweep. Smith kept the Rams in it with four kills to keep things close as the Rams trailed 24-23. The Pioneers completed the sweep with a 25-23 victory over the Rams.
Smith led the Rams in kills with 13, followed by Biggiers with nine and Rubis with seven.
Ruby Rumohr aided the Rams attack with 23 assists. Lewis and Rumohr were strong defensively with 26 digs combined.
The Rams return to action tomorrow against Oklahoma Panhandle State inside the Sid Richardson Center at 1pm.
